Divided door for street-cars or other purposes.



.I. B. BURDETT.

DIVIDED DOOR FOR STREET CARS OR OTHER PURPOSES. APPLICATION FILED IULY25, 1908.

1,134,668. Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

7 W H. N

THE NORRIS PETERS CO4PHF Tfl-LITHUH WASHINGTON. t'

JOHN B. BURDETT, or CHICAGO, ILLI OIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AssIeNMEN s, T0 NATIONAL PNEUMATIC coMrANY, A CORPORATION or WEST VIRGINIA.

DIVIDED noon FOR STREET-CARS OR OTHER PURPOSES.

T0 0ZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I,-Jo1-IN B. BURDE'ITT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have made a certain new and useful Invention in Divided Doors for Street- Cars. or other Purposes, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to divided doors. The, object of the invention is to provide a door divided into two portions, and so arranged and connected that they move in different directions in opening and closlng. A further object of the invention is to provide a divided door andmeans whereby, in opening, the portions of the door move in directions at right angles to each other.

A further and more restricted statement of the object of the invention is the provision of means whereby, in a divided door for street cars or other purposes, one portion thereof is moved intoposition to form a step while another portion thereof is moved into open position. 7

Other objects of theinvention will appear more fully hereinafter. The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location and rela-' tive arrangement of parts, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth, as shown in the accompanyingdrawing. and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, and to the various views and reference signs appearing thereon, Figure'l is a view in side' elevation of the end of a car, parts broken out, parts broken off, and'parts in section, showing application of a divided door construction and a form of intercon: necting mechanism embodying the princi ples ofmy invention, and showing in full lines the position of'the parts with the door closed, and in dotted lines-the door open. Fig. 2 is a broken transverse section on the line 2-, 2, Fig. '1, looking in the direction of the arrows, with the door closed. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan of the same. I

The same part is designated by the sam reference sign whereverit occurs throughout the several views. In the practical operationof street or other cars according to modern practices and methods, it is becoming more and more desirable] to provide inclosed platforms at" the ends. of the. car, and

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 6, 1915', Application filed July 25, 1908. Serial N 0. 445,393.

to provide the platforms with side doors, in

place of or in addition to the ordinary doors between the platform andthe car body. In constructing new cars embodying method and practice, it is customary to extend the floor ofthe car body'to .the extreme ends of the car so that the floors of this the platforms at the ends of the car are on i a level with the floor of the car body and forms continuations thereof. In this case the problem of providing the vestibules or platforms at the ends of the car. withsliding doors, so that such doors may'slide into sidepockets formed in the sides of the car, becomes an easy one. In converting the old style of cars into the inclosed platform type, however, a more difficult problem has arisen since it is not only necessary to provide the sliding or other side doors, but it is also necessary to make proper provision for steps.

the platforms or vestibules, or the floors thereof, are on a lower level than the level of the" floor of the car body. p

In accordance with the principles of my invention I propose to employ afidivided' door in the side of. the car platform or vestibule which, when closed, completely incloses the platform or vestibule, and one portion of which, the upper portion, may slide into apocket formed in the side of the car, whilethe other or lower portion thereof swings down at right angles to the direction of movement of the upper portion, to form a step, the lower level of the platform floor,

ate with the upper portion to close the plat;

form or vestibule side doorway oropeni'ng, when such upper portion is moved into .its closed position. I also propose to so connect the two portions of the doors as to cause coincident and cooperative movements thereof, and Iss0 arrange such connections iIoreover, inmost instances of old style cars purposes of my invention,

that the relative speeds of movement of the sections or portions of the door varies according to the relative positions thereof.

In the accompanying drawing I have in dicated a construction exemplifying the principles of my invention as applied to street cars and wherein the floor of the platform at the end of the car is at a lower level than the floor of the car body.

In the drawing reference sign 5, designates the floor of the car body, 6, the floor of the platform at the end of the car, 7, theupper portion of the divided door, and 8,. the lower portion thereof. The lower portion 8, of the door is carried by castings or brackets 9, supported upon a rock shaft 10,. carried by hangers 11, depending from the under side of the platform adjacent the doorway inthe side thereof, whereby, when said shaft is rocked the lower section 8, of the door is rocked or swung into position foruse as a step, or into position to cooperate with the upper section of the door to close the doorway, according to the direction in. which said shaft is rocked. The upper sec tion or portion 7 of the door may be sup-- ported in the ordinary manner of sliding doors, as for instance, by means of hangers: 12, and is arranged to slide into a pocketv formed in the side of the car body, as indicated at 13. Any desired or well known. form of door operating mechanism may beemployed. As illustrative of an operative embodiment, I have shown a pivoted lever- 141, having sliding connection with the door.. By rocking said lever the door is moved into or out of closed position, according to the direction of operation of the lever, and when in open position is received in the pocket 13. The lever 14,- may be rocked in many difierent ways, and many different arrangements of connections between thesec tions 7,, 8, of the door may be devised for securing coincident movement of said sections but in different directions. For instance, and by way of illustration, an operating handle or lever 16, is provided for rocking a bell crank arm 17, which is connected by a link 18, with one arm of a bell crank lever 20, which is pivoted at 15, said operating handle or lever 16, being also connected to operate the door moving lever 141. To another arm 21, of the bell crank lever is connected one end of a link 22, said link being connected at its other end to a crank arm 23, on the rock shaft 10, whereby, when the operating lever 16 is rocked the lever 14: is-also rocked to shift or move the'upper section of the door while at the same time the section 8, of the door .is .coincidently moved. By the relation and arrangement of lever and link connections above described, it will beseen that the relative speeds oic movementrof: the. two. sections of.

the door vary according to the positions of said sections. The upper section of the door begins to move slowly toward its closed position, but rapidly accelerates its speed until :it approaches its closed position when its speed is again reduced. So, too, in opening, the lower section of the door begins its movement slowly and then accelerates, but slows down again as it approaches its lowered position. This result is due to the arrangement of crank arm connections through which the door sections are operated, and the shifting leverages exerted thereby by reason of the relation and arrangement and the arcs through which they turn. It is obvious, however, that my invention, in its broadest scope as defined in the claims, is not to be limited or restricted with respect-to the mechanism employed to operate the door or the sections thereof.

In practice I prefer to so arrange the link 18, that when the upper portion 7 of the door is in its open position, that is, is in the pocket in the side of the car, the point of connection of said link with the crank arm 17 will pass closely adjacent a line joining the axis of said crank arm and the point of connection of said link 18, with the arm 19, as indicated in Fig. 1, thereby making the action a substantially dead center action, so that when, the upper portion of the door begins to movev toward its closed position a powerful action of the crank arm 17, is exerted to initiate the raising movement of the lower portion of the door, this action resulting fromthe crank arm moving off its dead center position, helps to overcome the weight of the section 8, of the door in moving from its lowered position. If desired, and in order to assist in balancing the .weight'of the section 8 of the door when in its lowered position, I may attach a spring 25, to the crank arm through which the section 8, of the door is operated, in .such manner and relation as to be putin tension when said section of the door is moved into its loweredposition. I

.As above noted my invention in its broadest scope and as defined in the claims is not to be limited inrespect of the means employed to operate the sections of the doors, nor with respect to the point from which such operation is controlled, the arrangement shown being designed merely as anrillustrative form of mechanism for accomplishing the;v desired objects.

The platform or vestibule may be separatedv fromthe bodyofthe car by the usual doors 26, 27, which move transversely of the car when, opening or closing. These doors 26,;27,,aremounted'and arranged in the ordinary manner'to separate the vestibuleor platform from thebody of the car.

.I do, not. claim. herein; the door construetion, per as as the same forms the subject matter of my application, Serial No. 584,393, filed Sept. 80, 1910, and divided out of this application.

Having now set' forth the object and nature of my invention and a construction embodying the principles thereof, what I- claim as new and useful, and of my own invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1

1. A car having a floor, a doorway, and a side pocket, in combination with a door section to close the upper portion of said doorway, and adapted to slide into said pocket in opening, and a member hinged beneath the floor at the doorway and adapted to rock into position to close the lower portion ofthe doorway when closed and to form a step below the doorway and floor when closed.

2. A car having a platform, a side doorway for the platform, a movable door section to open and close the upper portion of said doorway, a movable member hinged below the floor of the platform to be rocked into and out of position to close the lower portion of the doorway, said member whenin open position forming a step below the level of the platform floor, and connections for coincidently moving said door section and member into and out of closed position.

3. A car having an end platform and a side door thereforgsaid door'made in sections, one section being mounted to rock in opening, into position below the level of the platform fioor to form a step and the other section mounted to slide out of the entrance to and from the platform, said sections being connected together to move in unison.

4:. A car having an end platform, and a divided door for the side of the platform, said door consisting of two portions mounted to move in transverse directions, one of said portions arranged to form a step when in open position and means for counterbalancing one of said portions.

5. A car having an end platform, said platform having a side doorway, a door composed of two sections, one section controlling the upper portion of the doorway and the other the lower portion of the doorway, said last mentioned section being hinged below the floor of the platform and rocking,,when opened, into position to formv above the sill of the car body and arranged to extend over the platform, with a supplemental door hinged upon a horizontal axis extendinglongitudinally of the car to swing outwardly into open position to form a step, and operating to close the space between the bottom of the sliding door and the top of the platform when in closed position. v

7 The combination in a passenger car, of a platform, a sliding door adapted toclose one side of the platform, and a supplemental door for closing the space between the lower end of the sliding door and the platform, said supplemental door being hinged, the hinged axis thereof extending horizontally and longitudinally of the car,

whereby said supplemental door may swing V outwardly to forma step when in open position with means connecting the supplemental door with the sliding door to cause the two to move in unison.

8. A car having an end platform and a I two part door for the side of the platform,

of the platform, the hinge axis of said lower 7 part extending longitudinally of the car.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of the subscribing witnesses, on this 17th day of July A. D.,

JOHN B. BURDETT.

Witnesses HAROLD ROWNTREE,

L. M. SHIELDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

